1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle key system for verifying the identity of fingerprint information captured and for controlling pieces of equipment in a vehicle according to the verification result. More particularly, it relates to a vehicle key system capable of making it possible for a user owning a plurality of vehicles to manipulate a specific vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional vehicle key system as disclosed in Japanese patent publication (TOKKOUHEI) 5-22791 or Japanese patent application publication (TOKKAIHEI) 11-93478, fingerprint information captured by a sensor or the like is transmitted from a mobile transmitter to a receiver mounted on a vehicle and the fingerprint information is verified against previously stored fingerprint information. The vehicle key system can release the lock of doors only if they match.
A problem with a conventional vehicle key system constructed as above is that even when an authorized user owning a plurality of vehicles attempts to manipulate a specific vehicle using his or her own mobile transmitter, the transmission of fingerprint information from the mobile transmitter can make another vehicle key system for another vehicle of his or her own operate, thereby imposing an inconvenience on the user. In other words, when the user manipulates the mobile transmitter to release the lock of doors of a specific vehicle, the transmission of fingerprint information from the mobile transmitter can release the lock of doors of another vehicle. Needless to say, this misoperation is undesirable from the viewpoint of the security.